Pakistan

Page updated on 24/08/2009

CRISIS: Pakistan Earthquake Appeal

Officials in Balochistan say they expect the toll to rise.

The tremor struck 70km (45 miles) northeast of the provincial capital, Quetta at 0409 (2309GMT Tuesday) at a depth of 10km (6.2 miles), the US Geological Survey said. Many houses collapsed during the quake and some were destroyed in landslides that followed it, officials said.

Most of the casualties were from two villages on the outskirts of Ziarat town. Balochistan chief minister Nawab Aslam Khan Raisani ordered declaration of emergency in the hospitals of the affected areas. These areas, situated on steep terrain, were badly damaged by landslides caused by the quake. Officials and hospital staff said scores of people had been injured, most when mud walls collapsed or in the panic when people rushed from their homes.

The tremors were felt in Quetta, Ziarat, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Mastung, Sibi, Bolan, Kuchlak and Loralai areas. The epicentre was near the scenic valley of Ziarat, one of the main tourist spots in Baluchistan province.

Officials in the hilly Ziarat district, said many houses had collapsed and some had been destroyed in landslides trigged by the quake.

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Poverty in Pakistan is a growing concern. Although the middle-class has grown in Pakistan, nearly one-quarter of the population is classified poor as of October 2006. The declining trend in poverty as seen in the country during the 1970s and 1980s was reversed in the 1990s by poor federal policies and rampant corruption. This phenomenon has been referred to as the poverty bomb.

Wealth Distribution in Pakistan is highly uneven, with 10% of the population earning 27.6% of income. According to the United Nations Human Development Report, Pakistans human development indicators, especially those for women, fall significantly below those of countries with comparable levels of per-capita income. 40% of the population has no access to safe drinking water, and 50% has no access to sanitation. Pakistan also has a higher infant mortality rate (88 per 1000) than the South Asian average (83 per 1000).

According to estimates by international NGOs, 74% of Pakistans population, or 122 million people, live under $2 a day, compared to 72.2% for Sub-Saharan Africa and some 15%, or 30 million people live under $1 a day.

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